


Changes and Continuities

by thatoneperson0000



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn, angst later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2020-10-16 22:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20610188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatoneperson0000/pseuds/thatoneperson0000
Summary: Techno wakes up in a world just like Minecraft after hitting his head one day--and it doesn't stop there.





	1. Chapter 1

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Dave closed the stream, and leaned back on his chair. His headphones were thrown to the side, as he closed his computer down and breathed out slowly.

He was tired, and all he wanted to do is sleep--but there was still editing he had to do for his other videos. Dave decided to get something from the kitchen, standing up and heading to the kitchen.

His foot caught against the table's legs in his half-bleary attempt at walking, and he yelled in surprise as he hit the ground and slammed his head into the chair's foot.

Electrifying pain raced down his arms and there was an explosion in his head, but the last thing he thought before he lost consciousness was_ I can't believe I'm going to die like this, fantastic._

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

He woke up slowly, actually feeling rested for once.

There was no pounding headache, no pain anywhere on his body--just the smell of wood and rain in the air.

_Wait..._

Dave blearily looked around the room, seeing the unfamiliar structures and items. There was no computers, no posters or even the familiar bed he always slept in every night. There was some sort of intricate table in the corner, with windows on the left and right side of the walls, with rain pounding on the glass panes.

A carpet made up the bottom of the floor, and various boxes were flung around the room; he seemed to have been sleeping on a blue bed--which he did approve of, since that was his favorite color but that was beside the point.

"Did I hit my head that hard?" Dave wondered out loud, getting up and feeling around the room. Where was his computer and microphones? Where was he? This wasn't his room.

He suddenly tripped over something next to his bed, before seeing a shiny blue sword leaning against his bed.

"HUh?!" He exclaimed, looking at the item. He didn't recall ever getting a sword--and not one that realistic either.

Dave walked up to the window, looking outside. He was no longer in a city it seems--the homes were made entirely out of wood and stone, with fences around the roof and to frame around the front or backyards. Some people milled around, seemingly unbothered by the rain, although they were covered from head to toe in armor.

Dave rubbed his eyes.

_What is this, real life Minecraft?_

He seemed to have been transported into another place that looked very dangerously close to Minecraft. He had a fair inkling that this was, so the first thing he tried to do was open his inventory, if there was one.

He figured out that instead of inventories, the bags that he had within the chests were almost infinite, since when he reached in, he took out an entire log of wood.

There was an armor stand with diamond armor on it, so he grabbed that and put them on, looking at himself in the mirror.

_I look ridiculous_, Dave thought.

He took the bag and swung it over his shoulder, before strapping the diamond sword unto his hip with a belt and walked out into the rain-coated streets. Horses ran by as the local people flurried about in their stands and shops, while Dave could see a guard every few towers he passed.

_This is just real life Minecraft, isn't it,_ he thought, the panic finally settling in. How was he supposed to get home? He didn't feel like staying in this sort of large town/city-village forever.

As he came out, he realized that the rain didn't affect him as much as in his world--it seems as though the people here are more resilient to weather and hunger, probably.

"Hey Techno!" A voice called out, so Dave looked back. He noticed that they had called out his Minecraft name instead of his actual one--which he should have expected.

"Huh?" He replied cautiously. The figure came closer, revealing a brown haired man wearing a checkered flannel. "Bajan?"

Dave was used to seeing his real life face, not his Minecraft skin humanized, so he was caught a little off-guard by that.

"Yeah it's me," Bajan replied, diamond armor clinking against each other a bit. "Did you forget? You're the leader for the expedition today."

Dave looked at Bajan seriously in the eyes, before saying, "look Bajan, I'm sure Techno was in charge of that today--but I'm not him. I don't even know where I am, and I don't have memories of this place at all. So don't expect me to know anything."

"Uhh are you joking?" Bajan asked, one eyebrow raised up in confusion. "Did you hit your head yesterday?"

"No, but also yes," Dave replied. "Point is, where is this?"

"The city of Minecraft," Bajan replied, indicating around him. "The biggest one out there, and the best."

"Hold on, your city is called Minecraft? Wait, nevermind, moving on--what is this...expedition?" Dave asked disbelievingly.

"Great, I have to explain the whole story to you now," Bajan huffed, rolling his eyes a bit. "We take expeditions outside to guard traveling merchants and trading caravans between cities, since it's been getting dangerous outside lately. More mobs have been spawning, but we don't know why."

"So I have to lead this expedition?!" Dave exclaimed, a bit of panic setting in. He didn't know how to fight (only click on his mouse rapidly), and from the looks of it, this Techno guy was actually doing decent in this city. Plus, he didn't know how to lead a team, nonetheless with his life on the line protecting others.

"Yes," Bajan replied, before considering for a bit. "Well....I can say that you're not feeling well, so you can't lead..."

"YES. Do that."

"But you have to go anyway."

"Wait, what?"

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Dave got on a horse somewhat clumsily, although his body seemed to remember the motions. He went to the edge of the city, near the massive stone bricks front gate that connected the looming walls together that caged the city.

_What's with these large walls,_ Dave thought, curious.

Near the gate were a group of figures, bunched together with bags looped over their shoulders and atop horses.

Dave looked down at the list in his hand, recognizing a few of these figures.

Expedition List:

TapL XNestorio

Skeppy BadBoyHalo

Huahwi TheBestGinger13

"And here he comes," Skeppy's voice rang out among the pitter patter of rain droplets hitting the ground. Most of the members wore grim faces, but some were chattering to each other.

Skeppy was sitting on the ground next to the horse, blue hood up and eyes trained unto the sword he was holding. His current clothes were more elaborate than his Minecraft skin could ever show, and his tense figure betrayed his nervousness.

"Okay," Dave started, heading over quickly. "So uhh, if you haven't heard, I'm not leading today's expedition due to reasons, so Huahwi will be taking over."

"Hah?" Huahwi replied, looking a bit confused. "Wait, there are a million other people here better than me? Choose them."

"They're good PVPers, but you know tactics," Dave replied curtly. Bajan had recommended Huahwi to take over, and although he didn't know much about this universe's Huahwi, he knew the other one was level-headed and could be counted on to lead the team.

"True," TapL called out, legs crossed atop his horse.

"I'm alright with anybody," Nestorio added on, looking relaxed as he tossed his sword into the air before catching it again.

Dave nodded, then strapped his enchanted bow unto his back and jumped unto the horse's back.

"Let's head out then, we've got some coins to get."

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	2. Howling

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"You guys are the Durgan Merchants?" Huahwi asked, shaking the hands of one of the caravan leaders--a simple-looking, black haired man. 

"Yes, and I expect you are a part of the Mine Guards?" 

"We are," Huahwi confirmed, nodding over at his team. "Ginger, could you get the guards to open the front gate please?" 

"Yeah," Ginger replied, walking away. 

Dave sighed, feeling his back get a bit tired from sitting in an upright position for too long. The rain was starting to get heavier, but only by an infinitesimal amount. To the right of him, Skeppy jumped off his horse, stretching and rolling his shoulders back.

"Hey Techno," Skeppy called out, glancing up at Dave. "So what're we doing?"

"We informed you yesterday, no?" Nestorio joked, joining into the conversation. "We're escorting the Durgan Merchants back to their city." 

"You did? Haha, whoops," Skeppy replied, laughing lightly. 

Dave nodded in reply, silent. He was still new to the whole "Minecraft in real life" thing, but he knew most of these people from the Hypixel community. 

The front gate screeched suddenly, before the rolling of pistons sounded and the gates began to unravel. Ginger ran back to his horse, as did Skeppy, before they headed off into the wild. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

The ride was silent, with the occasional small talk in the air. The atmosphere was a bit tense, going off of what Bajan had said--more mobs had been spawning, and there were more and more problems turning up in the outside.

"Everybody has healing potions right?" TapL asked, looking behind him at the others. A chorus of "yes's" came back to him, although Dave said, "Oh no, I forgot mine."

"HUH?"

"I'm _kidding_," Dave replied, laughing a bit. 

"Got me," Ginger said sarcastically, fidgeting around with the leash on the horse. They had been traveling for a few hours already, hearing nothing but the rain pattering down and seeing only trees flash beside them. 

It was silent, although it felt a bit too silent for the woods. 

"OH look! A wolf pack!" BadBoyHalo whisper-shouted, pointing over to the direction of a bunch of white wolves milling around. 

"Wait..." Huahwi said, eyes narrowing before pulling out his bow. "They're hostile!" Dave scrambled for his bow as well, pulling back on the string (which felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time), and let it shoot. 

It missed. Terribly.

Even Ginger gave him a concerned side glance at the aim. 

Dave winced, although his second time was much better--and it was only getting more proficient. The howling of wolves filled the air, as the people on the side of the caravans ran inside of them. 

Bad's horse neighed, and he had to pull back on the reigns to keep himself from falling off. The others had already whipped out their bows, shooting it into the wolf pack with deadly accuracy and concentrated eyes. 

The wolves cried out as the arrows hit them, glaring red eyes lessening down to a dim glow and then disappearing all together. Their bodies littered the ground in a frenzied array, as TapL jumped off his horse to get the all-clear. 

"Why the hell were they hostile? We didn't even attack them," TapL said, confused. His hand hovered over the wolves' bodies, a light emerging before the body disappeared and several green light orbs flew around him. 

"Maybe someone was here earlier," Skeppy suggested, face looking a bit grim at the carnage. 

"Doubt it, we know who is authorized outside," Ginger commented, considering. "Although...you could be right." 

TapL narrowed his eyes, thinking, before getting up from his kneeling spot on the ground. "Any other suggestions?"

"It's strange," Huahwi piped up. "But we'll continue for now. However, keep on the alert, alright?" 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

It was strange, seeing those Youtubers who he'd interacted with in the past talk to him with their alternate universe selves. It wasn't unwelcome though--they still acted the same, although just a bit more hardened than their other selves. 

"There's the city!" Bad exclaimed, rain starting to lessen just a little bit. The trees had parted to reveal looming stone brick walls, and half-cut trees that were floating in the sky. Which felt a bit weird to Dave. 

"Finally," Nestorio replied, exhaling loudly. Skeppy's shoulders relaxed the slightest amount, while the merchants peeked out from the sides of the caravan. 

Once they got the confirmation to head inside from the caravan leader, they headed inside. The city on the inside was structured differently than the city of Minecraft--the buildings were taller, made almost entirely of stone bricks and haphazardly placed about instead of in a grid-like form. 

But the people were homey and curious, scuttling out near the streets and watching the commotion. 

"It's getting dark soon," Huahwi commented as he looked up at the sky. "We'll stop here for the night." He turned to the Durgan Merchant leader, and asked for any way for them to stay the night. The man gave them directions to an inn that a bit farther away, but it was cheaper than any of the nearby ones. 

"I'm tired," Skeppy said, yawning as his eyes drooped a bit. 

"You want to drink a bit of my speed potion?" Bad offered, black mask strapped to his face and hood low over his face. 

"Huh?" Skeppy asked, looking confused before realizing what he was being offered. "Oh uh, nah I don't need it Bad." 

"Fine then, you loafer," Bad huffed. (Note: I replaced 'muffin' with 'loafer' for 'loaf of bread' cause there's no muffins in Minecraft). 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Once they'd strapped their horses into the nearest stable, they headed to the inn. 

"I'll share a room with Nestorio," Huahwi declared, assigning rooms to everybody. "TapL with Ginger, Techno with Skeppy, and Bad you can have a room of your own."

"YES!" Bad yelled, pumping his arms up. 

"WHAT!?" Skeppy yelled, tone exasperated. "Ughhh, fineeee I guess." 

"Cool," Ginger said, fist-bumping TapL--who grinned back. 

_Fantastic_, Dave thought, rolling his eyes internally. He could've gotten anybody else, like Ginger or Huahwi, but he got Skeppy. Not that he hated Skeppy--just wasn't as familiar with him. 

"Alright go wash yourselves off and sleep, we've got to escort another trade group tomorrow!" Huahwi reminded as everybody agreed and stumbled into their rooms. 

"So...what's up?" Skeppy asked as he peeled off his armor from his body. 

"The ceiling," Dave replied sarcastically as he plopped down on the bed. His body was aching slightly from the hours of riding, and he felt the calluses on his hand--which he didn't have as a college student before. 

"Nice jokes." 

"I take pride in them," Dave snarked. He closed his eyes for a second, before hearing Skeppy say, "wait, you're bleeding."

Confused, Dave looked down at the side of his arm, which had a medium-sized gash slashed across. He hadn't even felt the pain, but as his adrenaline died down, he was starting to feel the pain. 

"Oh."

"OH?! That's not just some minor cut!" Skeppy exclaimed, grabbing a pink potion out of his bag. He looked at it a bit, making up his mind and opening the cap to pour just a little on the gash. 

"I didn't notice," Dave commented. 

"HOW???" 

He shrugged, seeing the wound close up slowly. It was slightly morbid but fascinating at the same time; he might as well watch it closer, since he wouldn't have this experience in the real world. 

Skeppy's fingers lingered across Dave's skin, and he shivered unconsciously before they were whisked away. 

"I'm showering first by the way," Dave said, a slight upturn in his lips. 

"This isn't fair. Why can't I go first?"

"You'll need a thousand years before you can defeat me," Dave joked, before taking off his armor. 

"Good night," Skeppy called from the other side of the cabinet. 

"'Night," Dave repeated, before he pressed the button and the lights went out. 

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	3. Bold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bad stuff happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Blood and violence

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════  
  


Dave opened his eyes, sleepiness still apparent in his drowsy form. It was still dark outside, as no sunlight streamed through the windows.

There was a warm figure draped over him, he noticed suddenly. Skeppy was still asleep, face much calmer and less tense than when he was awake. He was wrapped around Dave, as if looking for comfort and safety.

_What's Skeppy doing on my bed?_ Dave thought, putting his head back on his pillows and trying to extricate himself from the embrace.

As he pulled Skeppy's arms away from his form gently, he felt said person shift a bit and Dave froze.

"What time is it?" Skeppy asked, yawning.

"Dunno, but it's still dark," Dave answered, before cutting to the chase. "What were you doing on my bed Skeppy?"

Skeppy shrugged, casual about it.

"Sorry, heard some explosions in the night and I got a bit scared," he replied, before he suddenly glared. "Don't tell anybody else, okay?!" 

"Okay, but I won't guarantee if something slips out during a conversation--" Dave started, grinning before Skeppy let out a whisper-screech of some sort and tackled him.   
  


Skeppy ended up going back to sleep a minute later, but Dave, finding himself not succumbing to the drowsiness, stood up and changed into a white leather shirt, red belt, black pants and leather boots. 

He took his bag and sword, before heading outside into the dark. The dawn had not come up yet, but he preferred that. When they were heading to the inn, Dave had spotted a training area which was enclosed by a oak fence outer layer--it had chests on the side, along with several obstacle courses and practice dummies. 

_I can't believe I'm actually waking up early to exercise, _Dave thought, sarcastic. Normally, he'd wake up around seven, and hardly spend--if any--time training his muscles. But apparently this whole thing wasn't a dream, and he decided to spend some time training instead of wasting time (he remembered the heat in his face as he missed shots from his bow, and the eagle-eyed look on Ginger's face). 

He breathed out, taking out a wooden sword from the chest, before striking the dummy.   
  


════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════  
  


"Ah, here you are!" A voice called out, startling Dave from his entranced stupor. He'd been taking a break, watching the sun come up as he flexed his tired muscles. 

Strangely enough, the movements seemed to come naturally to him, albeit with a little difficulty since the mind and body were not seemingly connected in thought. 

"TapL?"

"Yeah, of course," TapL said, grinning. He sat down next to Dave on the bench, taking out red gloves and putting them on. "I didn't expect to see you training so early." 

Dave shrugged, not replying to that. So his other self didn't really do anything outside of what he was supposed to?

_Expected._

"So you wanna spar?"

"Nonono," Dave replied on instinct. "Come on, you always beat me." Which was true--he remembered those Hypixel tournaments. 

"Exactly!" TapL replied, giggling a bit as he sprung off the bench. "It's to get better, I swear!" 

"Noooo," Dave groaned as TapL took his hand and yanked him off the bench. "I don't feel like dying today, nope."

"Too bad."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"I mean, that was a really good fight," TapL commented as he kept one knee planted on Dave's chest. Dave just laid there, letting his breathing go back to normal and groaning in pain. 

"I don't want your pity," Dave said jokingly, getting up with TapL's help. 

"Have you gotten worse? Looks like not practicing for a while does something to you, huh?"

"Got it, I know," Dave replied. 

"Come on then, let's go!" TapL said, beckoning him forward. "Wipe up, and we'll need to meet Huahwi down at the Bell Tavern." 

"Alright..."   
  


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Huahwi counted out the members of the team, before they had breakfast. Today, they were first escorting the Red Fox Merchants down to Tiuk Village, before heading back to Minecraft city. 

"I'm not scared, just kinda nervous about the whole thing," Ginger said as he sat down next to Dave during breakfast. 

"Why?"

"There's been rumors of something behind the mob's appearances," Ginger replied thoughtfully. "Something behind their aggressiveness, making even the most harmless full of hostility." 

"Oh...so you think we're going to encounter those mobs?" Dave asked.

"Definitely, so watch out." 

"Ah...Noted, thanks."   
  


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The weather was overcast, with the smell of wet rain lingering over from yesterday. The clip clopping of horse hooves on the trails filled the otherwise silent air, with the conversations of the merchants in the background. 

Dave was towards the end of the line, along with Bad--who kept fidgeting nervously on his horse.

"Uh, you nervous?" Dave asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Yeah," Bad replied. 

"And...?"

"Well..."

"I mean, it's just me so you can say whatever's on your mind," Dave said reassuringly, albeit a bit awkwardly. 

"I'm...not exactly the best at PVP, like you guys," Bad admitted. "I just don't want to be a burden."

"No one's a burden," Dave replied. "Maybe we're good at PVP, but I know I'm hella bad at maps or potion-making. We've all got limitations and strengths, like you with yours."

Bad was silent for a second. 

"Thanks, I'm still nervous but a little less now," he laughed lightly. 

"No problem."  
  


════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════  
  


"We're here!" Nestorio exclaimed, the village coming into view. It looked exactly like the plains villages in the Minecraft video games, only that it looked like it had an enhanced, realistic texture pack on, and there were no walls or fences like the cities.

"Good," Skeppy commented. "It was getting boring." 

"Alright, we're going to set up base camp on the outskirts of the village," Huahwi said as he set the tents down unto the ground from his horse. 

"Gotcha!" Bad said as he rushed to help Huahwi. Dave followed.

The white tents were soon pitched up, forming a circle around where the campfire would soon go. The village buildings rose up in the background, organized and seemingly friendly, even against the gloomy sky.

A figure walked on over from one of the larger houses, black suit on (wouldn't it be uncomfortable?) and sunglasses in place. 

"Hey dudes!" He said, looking cheerful--the opposite of Dave currently. 

"SSundee?" Huahwi asked in surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm in charge of investigating the events around here," SSundee replied. "This place was hit the hardest by the mobs, so be careful. I assume you're going to head out soon?"

"Actually, we're staying for another two days." 

"Ah, ok. Well, we've got a few guards on the watch around here, so you guys can look around for now if you want."

"Alright, thanks," Huahwi nodded. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Dave wandered around, a bit bored. Skeppy had followed him as well, dragging BadBoyHalo along as well. Ginger and Nestorio had gone off to practice, while TapL had wandered off and Huahwi did....Huahwi things.

"So where are we going?" Skeppy asked, looking at Dave. 

"Heck if I know either," Dave joked, shrugging. "Let's go check that library out." There was a small building right next to the village church; it looked inconspicuous at first, but the sign on it caught Dave's eye. 

"You guys are the guards that arrived yesterday, yes?" A voice called from the side of them, which revealed a young, brown-haired girl. 

"Yeah," Bad replied. "Why?" 

"I saw you guys were heading to the library," she replied. "I just wanted to say that the Librarian's a bit crazy in the head, so don't heed his words. He just speaks a lot of nonsense, since he's old now."

"Really?" Skeppy asked, curious. "What kind of stuff?"

"Nonsense," the girl said bluntly. "But just...so you don't get freaked out, y'know?"

"Okay, thank you," Dave cut in. "We'll just be there for a short while, so we'll head on over now." The girl nodded as they walked a bit, before heading to the slight worn door, opening it slowly.

The musk of old books and oak wood hit their olfactory system, as their eyes adjusted to the dim lighting streaming through the small window on the east side. All around the room were shelves of books arranged very neatly for a man who was known to be a bit crazy in the head, and the front of the room housed a counter which sat an old man behind it.

The man's eyes were gray, as if he was losing his eyesight, and his white beard was untrimmed but not too long. He wore a leather tunic, along with a white coat over it, and the light reflected off his glasses as the group walked in.

Dave nodded to the man, and the Librarian acknowledged him back, eyes sharp with a strange light. 

"Whoah," Skeppy whispered. Although there was nobody else in the room, it was basically a universal room to stay quiet in the library. 

It was surreal seeing a non-modern library--actually, it was surreal being in another world entirely. He suddenly had a sick feeling in his stomach, thinking of what might be happening in his other world. Had time stopped, or was he dead, or was he in a coma? How would he go back?

He shook those thoughts away for now. 

"Skeppy, don't ask surprised," Bad whisper-giggled. "You've seen the library at Minecraft city; it's much more impressive."

"Yeah, but this looks antique!" 

"I'm surprised you know that word," Bad replied as they looked around. Dave saw a book labeled_ History of the Calamities _by...the name was crossed out, as if somebody didn't want anybody to see their name. 

Curious, Dave opened the book, flipping through it as Skeppy and Bad looked around and read some other books. 

It was interesting, seeing the world from these peoples' eyes.

[ In summary, Notch, Alex, and Steve were the first people to spawn, and they were known as the Primordial Spawns--whatever that was. Essentially, Alex and Steve were the Adam and Eves of this world--they created the first non-Spawns of the world, and the three of them were at the top in terms of ability, stamina, strength, and intelligence. 

Other Spawns began appearing, such as Sky and Bajan--_oh, that guy,_ Dave thought--who helped create cities and villages. Mobs weren't any danger to both Spawns and non-spawns at first, until they started appearing with purple energy--corrupted energy, it was called. There was an plethoric amount of casualties, and more and more people clustered together from the danger. 

It went on to describe a team of Spawns called Team Crafted, who found a link to another world--the End, and they brought back the head of the Ender Dragon. This was the end to the first Calamity, and the corrupted creatures disappeared altogether.

The second calamity was a black creature that had destroyed numerous villages before it reached the first city. A few pages were ripped out, but the majority of it described a three-headed monster (the wither, Dave's head supplied him with) that was defeated at the expense of Notch and Alex. ]

The book ended there, although it never explained what Spawns were. 

_This is weird,_ Dave thought. Especially since the people mentioned here seemed like legendary figures here, but were just simply big Youtubers in his world. 

"Uhh hey, is there a way to buy this?" Dave asked, looking at the Librarian. He knew it was a library and not a bookstore, but he wanted to try anyway. It was an interesting book, and looked super old by the appearance of peeling pages and scuffed leather.

"No, not that one," the Librarian replied bluntly, looking at him sharply. 

Dave turned to walk away, disappointed, before the librarian called out "wait." He looked back.

There was an eerie blue glow in the Librarian's eyes now, as he gazed into Dave's eyes and beckoned him forward. As if on impulse, Dave did as told and stepped in front of the old man. 

From his peripheral, Dave could see Skeppy and Bad watching cautiously as they pretended to read; they must've heard their conversation in this one-roomed library. 

"You wanted something?" Dave asked as casually as he could. 

The Librarian reached out and grasped his shoulder, eyes shining a bit more blue now. His hands dug more and more painfully into Dave's shoulders, and he gasped in surprise, hands instinctively flying to his sword.

"You're the one," the Librarian said, voice low. "You're the one from the visions. Tell the people--tell the people to beware of those white eyes! Else they shall perish in fire and explosions--the third calamity is coming!"

_"Huh?" _

"BEWARE!" The Librarian yelled, disregarding the name. "You must stop it--stop the people from believing false lies and rumors, tell the truth! Tell them, Messenger of the OtherWorld; this is your duty!" 

_What the hell,_ Dave thought, the Librarian's hands still digging painfully into his shoulder. At this point, Skeppy and Bad had their swords out, and had already run over to the scene. 

"Let go of him!" Bad warned, eyes set with a fierce look. 

"Get away right now," Skeppy said, voice low and foreboding. He stepped towards the Librarian threateningly, but the Librarian just took his hand off Dave's shoulders, eyes going back to its usual glow. 

"Heed what I say," the Librarian said, clasping his arms across the desk. 

"I actually don't know what to do, because you gave me very cryptic instructions," Dave commented, but the Librarian refused to speak any longer with them. 

"Okay then," Skeppy said, confused. "Uhmm, Bad and I are going to start leaving then. Techno, you coming?"

"I'm going to stay for a bit longer," Dave replied, walking back to the shelves. His eyes lingered on the Librarian, who was reading a book, a bit longer. 

He had to find out more about this world. 

Turns out, Spawns were immortals. No one knew the exact amount of them in the world, since they just appear suddenly randomly. 

The only useful information about them was that they were more fit and less dependent on nourishment, and that the only way they could die was by lightning.

For some odd reason. 

Dave put the books back where they belonged, telling himself to go visit the bookstore instead next time. This place gave him chills, especially since he could've sworn the Librarian kept looking at him over his book. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

The trouble really began on the second day. 

Dave was practicing archery on a random oak tree, when the village bells began to sound off, the ding-ding-ding fading on and off rapidly. Around him, the villagers began running into their houses, as the iron golems all came out to fight, their heavy bodies slamming against the ground. 

His bow had infinity, so he didn't yank the arrows he left in the tree--instead, he clenched his bow and looked around to see what was happening. They were in the plains, however, with the woods on the eastward side, so he could easily see the danger heading towards the village.

Thundering sounds rang out among the trees, as birds fluttered into the air and gray-skinned men and women rode horses and ran on foot in the direction of the village. 

_Aren't these pillagers from that 1.14 update? _Dave thought. _Or something like that..._

He didn't remember being this much pillagers though in one raid...nonetheless with mobs like creepers and spiders among them. The zombies even had helmets on top of their heads--there was no way they put that on themselves, or was there?

"Oh my god, what is this?" Ginger asked as he rode past Dave on his horse. "I've never seen these kinds of mobs before."

"They look more like villagers than random mobs," Dave pointed out as he grabbed Ginger's hand, who yanked Dave unto his horse. 

"Yeah," Ginger agreed, body tense. It was an unknown threat, which actually looked intelligent. There was a war cry in the air as the pillagers stopped right before entering the village, and a rain of arrows came down from the sky. 

It struck the iron golems, sounds of dents and arrows being embedded into the kinks between the iron limbs ringing out. Ginger dodged an arrow that went past his face, face growing serious. They'd reached the outskirts of the village, where most of the pillagers were currently; BadBoyHalo and Skeppy had been sent over to the other side of the village to make sure there was no pincer attack from the back. 

Dave jumped off the horse, nocking an arrow into his bow and shooting into the raid crowd. He saw it hit one of the pillager's hands, knocking the crossbow away from his nimble fingers. Dave smirked slightly at that. 

Suddenly, a red firework went up near the other side of the village, where Skeppy and Bad were--which meant that they were attacking from the backside as well. 

Ginger rode toward that direction, along with a few more guards although Dave stayed where he was at. 

"Let's go!" Nestorio's yell could be heard over the cacophony of noises, as they rushed into battle. Dave stayed toward the back, hurling arrow after arrow onto pillagers--being extra careful not to hit any of his team mates. 

He could see SSundee and TapL on the frontlines, pushing forward. Huahwi sliced a zombie, jumping to the side as an arrow was embedded at the spot where he was just at, as the iron golems swung their arms violently. 

"Holy shit," Dave said out loud, swearing on accident. 

They were pushing forward before, but were not being forced on the defensive. There were too little guards from both sides, and too many pillagers and mobs. The ravagers on the side didn't make it any easier, and they were being forced into the village.

"FUCK!" TapL swore when one of the pillagers got to the village, setting fire to one of the houses. Soon enough, they were being thrown back into the village, desperately trying to keep the casualties to a minimum. 

Dave continued shooting arrows, fingers starting to hurt from the strain and continuous stream of arrows. He took down a few more pillagers, trying to keep them from killing any of the civilians. 

"Nonono," Dave panicked, seeing one of the pillagers slit the throat of one of the villagers and another set yet another house on fire. 

A ravager suddenly came at him, and his body instinctively leapt up on the creature. It moved its head in a frenzy, but he took out his diamond sword and stabbed down on the side of its neck. He took it out, before doing it over and over again.

The blood trickled down his forearm as he tried to not throw up, but he held on for dear life. He took out his sword one last time as the ravager fell onto its side, its body heaving for breaths as it whined and died. 

Dave wiped the blood from the beast unto his red cloak, before throwing up on the side of the road quickly. 

_Stay composed,_ Dave repeated to himself as he held up his sword again. 

The fires began spreading, red sparks and white embers jumping into the air. Smoke and dust filled the air as a couple of guards grabbed water buckets and tried to put the houses out. In the distance, pillagers and zombies could be seen grabbing villagers out of their homes and killing them. 

Huahwi leapt through the crowd of pillagers, saving one villager before dancing like a leaf between the ranks and causing blue blood to be spilled onto the dirt ground. Dave looked at him, mesmerized for a second before charging into said ranks as well.

"_Die!_" Dave yelled as he loped the head off a pillager, hands shaking just the slightest. From the corner of his eye, he saw TapL get cornered before killing the entire group of zombies in sharp, precise movements. 

"And you don't get to survive," Dave muttered under his breath, going back into his skywars commenting routine on instinct. "You as well, no living for you. _Unacceptable_." 

Soon, the fires began to die down with the help of the village guards as the number of pillagers and mobs lessened. About a third of the village had been set on fire and burned down, and even more villagers had been killed in the ensuing raid. 

The survivors didn't dare head out until another, different-sounding bell rang out. Dave breathed out slowly, sitting down on a rock that wasn't blood-stained. He saw Nestorio and TapL come near him, plopping down right next to him as they sheathed their swords.

"That was rough," TapL said as he sighed. There were multiple wounds all over his body, and his red jacket was ripped in several places. Nestorio looked a bit better, although still a bit worse for wear. 

"Well, that was fantastic," Dave said sarcastically. When he first went on this "expedition", he expected it to be just a peaceful ride to wherever they were heading--albeit with a bit of fighting here and there--but peaceful, nonetheless.

Nope. Not at all. 

"I'm having a great day," Nestorio added in sarcastically as well. Their sardonic tones brought them into a moment of laughter, or maybe it was just a combination of hysteria and adrenaline from the fighting. 

"Oh hey, where's everybody going?" TapL asked as he saw Huahwi, Skeppy, and Bad walk over in one direction. Nestorio shrugged, before all three of them followed where the others were going. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

They were in the village square with the survivors, with the Mine Guards in the middle as the crowd formed around them. 

"This didn't happen until these guys showed up!" A voice laced with poison spewed out from among the crowd, face full of soot and anger. 

"Correlation, not causation!" Dave yelled back, though he was disregarded in the cacophony.

"I take responsi--" Huahwi started, before Skeppy interrupted with "--no you don't! Hey, think about it! How the hell would we have controlled villagers or created...whatever those things were in the first place?!"

"You all are spawns, aren't you? Nobody knows where you creatures came from either!"

"There's no way we can trust you!" 

_Wait, these Spawn things were mentioned in that book, _Dave realized. He instinctively looked at Skeppy at the thought, but the man was still looking towards the crowd, fire burning in his eyes.

"Yes--but we work for the royal guard for the city of Minecraft, we've all had background checks!" Ginger yelled. "Nobody here would do such a thing!" 

Huahwi put out a hand in front of Ginger, before breathing in slowly.

"Okay, arguing isn't solving anything. How about this? Assign a person to us to monitor each one of us for another week, and if anything strange happens, then we're innocent. But if nothing happens as we're monitored, then we'll leave and never come back," Huahwi reasoned. 

"NO! WE WANT YOU TO LEAVE NOW!" 

"LEAVE, SPAWNS!"

"STAND DOWN!" SSundee yelled, eyes flashing behind his sunglasses. "Huahwi's suggestion would've sounded reasonable if there was evidence of them doing anything--but there isn't. I will speak with the village head about this, and we will settle this with _civility, _not your...feelings." 

The crowd murmured a bit still, but they had quieted down pretty quickly to the words of a previous member of Team Crafted. 

There was a quiet anger in Dave's chest as he clenched his fists. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

"You alright?" Dave asked TapL as he sat there, head in his hands.

"_I'm _ok--it's just...we've never had such a _shit _job!" He said, looking up at Dave. "We're supposed to be the best fighters of this generation, but so many people died anyway. It's--It's just..."

He looked back down at his hands.

"What the hell are fighting abilities when you can't even save people with it?" 

Dave sat down beside TapL, eyes filled with mixed emotions. He'd never actually experienced death before--never seen someone die, never had that feeling of guilt on his hands. But he was experiencing something new in this world--this world of the strong and of fire-filled villages.

"But if you hadn't been there, imagine how much more would've died," Dave reasoned. "I know that it's hard--but we can't save everyone."

"I know...it's just, I expected myself to stop feeling like this decades ago," TapL replied. "I should be stronger than this."

"You're not strong if you don't show your emotions," Dave said. "You're just better at hiding them." 

TapL looked at him in surprise. 

"Besides, I'd rather not have some emotionless robot as a friend," Dave continued, looking reassuringly back at TapL. 

"Uh..what's a robot?"

"Disregard my words," Dave replied instantly, remembering he was in a different world. 

"Pft," TapL suddenly snorted, laughing slightly. "You never change. Thanks, Techno." 

"Anytime." Dave shared a small grin with TapL, before TapL suggested sparring and he got the shit beaten out of him yet again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put hints of Techno x TapL as well, if you couldn't tell ;P Also rip Team Crafted, they were my childhood ;((( 
> 
> Also, I'll try to make chapters longer now (was too excited before to spend more than one day to post), since I know how annoying those Wattpad ads are. I was only going to write 1000 words, but then it turned to 4000 and idk what happened lol


	4. Crystal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stuff goes down

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"So Ginger, I have a question," Dave started, walking up said person, who was tending the campfire. "Why are people so distrustful of spawns?" 

"Huh? Did you forget?" Ginger asked, looking up at him. 

"Forget what?"

"That incident."

"What incident?" Dave asked, starting to get a bit impatient. _What was so mysterious that it wasn't even mentioned in any books? _ Ginger narrowed his eyes suspiciously, before pulling out his sword. 

"Who are you?" He asked, putting the sword at Dave's chest. Dave instinctively raised his eyes, eyes widening. 

"Whoah, no need for that," Dave calmly said--or, at least, he was on the outside. "Why?" 

"There's no way you would forget about it," Ginger said, eyes looking for any extra movements. "I _know _you wouldn't forget about it. Answer my question; who the fuck are you?" 

They stared at each other for a few moments, the tension becoming more and more palatable by the moment, before Dave swallowed, sighing. 

"Could I explain my whole situation to you?" 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

"Okay, okay," Ginger replied, putting a hand on his head. "So...what you're essentially telling me is that you're from another world?"

"Yep."

"So...just a thought, but do you think Techno is in your world?" 

"Well...that's a fantastic thought," Dave said sarcastically. "But maybe. I dunno, I came here somehow by hitting my head on my chair."

"I don't know if I can trust those words," Ginger said. "But I mean, you haven't done anything..." 

"What am I going to do, beat you PVP gods up? Nah, not a chance," Dave drawled. Especially since he only knew how to hit that left button on his mouse--not sword-fighting or archery. "So....could you explain whatever incident you were talking about to me?"

Ginger indicated to Dave, and they both sat down neat the campfire. The fading glows of the embers lit up his skin in a myriad of red, orange, and yellow as shadows danced around them gloomily. 

"About thirty years ago, a group of spawns named the Brine Rebels came together and terrorized the villages and cities," Ginger started. "It was bad, I'll tell you that--I was there. They killed innocents, not even leaving the children alive, and burned entire villages to the ground."

Dave listened carefully, nodding every once in a while to indicate he was listening.

"But why?"

"They refused to say," Ginger said, eyebrows furrowed. "The Spawns were executed with lightning, and the weird thing is...when prompted about it, Notch didn't seem to say anything about it--like he refused to say anything about it."

Dave met Ginger's eyes.

"So he knew something you guys didn't?"

"I think so," Ginger replied. "But I don't know why...to this day, the villagers don't trust us. I think it's also because nobody knows where we come from...we just appear. We're unknown creatures, and people hate that."

"But what does this have to do with me?"

"You told me this once," Ginger said, eyes cautious. "That the reason you threw yourself in your work was because you couldn't protect those who you cared about during that purge." 

"Who?"

"You never told me, but I know Hannah, Defib, and Timedeo died, and they were pretty close to you."

"Oh," Dave replied, gripping the wood underneath his fingers. "Defib was closer to TapL...he must've been devastated." 

"I'm pretty sure they were together in all honesty," Ginger laughed. Dave's eyes widened and he parted his mouth open in a "o" expression. 

"Ok, I didn't expect that." 

Ginger suddenly got up, stretching--Dave heard the bones pop after a long time of disuse, and he cringed at the sound. 

"So...got any other questions? I'm sure you'd want to know more information about this place," Ginger asked.

"Oh...you have no idea." 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

"Corrupted energy," SSundee said, figure tense. "I haven't seen this in a long time." 

"Huh? They didn't look exactly like the corrupted creatures of the past," Huahwi commented as they looked at the corpses of the pillagers. They weren't turned to experience quite yet, as they still needed to be looked over by SSundee. 

"They've got a very minute trace of it, but I can tell from a mile away if it's there," SSundee replied. "Crainer! Get over here!"

"OK! Sheesh, I'm right here," Crainer yelled back, shuffling on over. He examined the corpse, lifting up its dead arms and legs, before stepping back to look at SSundee.

"Look, I gotta be honest man, I don't think these Spawns could do this," Crainer said, shrugging. "It's gotta be something else...maybe not the enderdragon, but something bigger."

"So you're suggesting possibly an enemy bigger than the first calamity?" 

"Perhaps," Crainer replied. "I'm just throwing out ideas man. But I do know that these events aren't normal..." 

"Nice observation," SSundee said, rolling his eyes. 

"Jeez, next time you can make the observations then!" 

SSundee looked over at the Mine Guards, who were standing curiously by the side. Dave had the best view, seeing as he was tall, of the scene below. 

"I've spoken to the village chief, and since he's a bit more reasonable than the others, he's allowing you guys to leave without repercussions," SSundee said. "There's no evidence of any wrongdoing. When are you leaving, Huahwi?"

"I was thinking today," said person replied.

"Crainer and I will come with you then, so we can report back to Sparklez and Steve," SSundee said, nodding at them. 

"Alright, then we should get ready," Huahwi said, looking pointedly at the group--who all split up in different directions once he said that. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

"So...how're you doing?" Dave asked Skeppy as they walked back to the camp together. Skeppy looked at him, pushing his hood back. There was a slight shifting sound every time he dragged his feet across the ground, back slightly slouched. 

"Terrible, but thanks for asking," he replied. "It's been a wild ride this entire trip." 

"Very wild indeed," Dave repeated, not knowing what to say. 

Skeppy's hand occasionally brushed against Dave's, and his heart jumped up into his throat everytime, although his face stayed the same as ever. 

"I'm so tired," Skeppy commented, stretching his arms out as they walked. He did look worn out, eyes and body posture expressing his physical discomfort. 

"HEY GUYS!" TapL's voice came from behind them, as both Skeppy and Dave felt two arms wrap around their shoulders. Dave unintentionally jumped, TapL's arrival surprising him.

"What're you two doing all alone?" TapL questioned, wide grin on his face as he winked at both of them. 

"Oh my gosh," Skeppy complained, ears getting redder with each word.

"TapL _please_," Dave complained as well, although he slightly smiled in return as the three of them walked back to camp. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

They were on their way again, back to Minecraft City, although this time there were no merchants or caravans trailing behind. The sun peeked through the leaves today, wind rustling through the vibrant trees as their horses walked through the dense forest. 

There was a slightly louder noise behind them, although when everybody whipped around with their bows out, it was just a zombie with a leather helmet. 

"Do you guys think it's too silent for a forest?" Dave asked, suddenly tense as he thought back to the time the wolf pack attacked them--it felt like deja vu, being in the same situation as last time.

"You're right," Bad commented, fingers tightening around his sword. "Let's stay on guard."

"Right," TapL agreed.

Nothing actually happened, although it made Dave simultaneously more tense and relaxed at the same time. He'd checked around, and they'd probably encountered just another spider and creeper, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

As they traveled, the forest got thicker and thicker--they were getting into the woodland area, as Huahwi had confirmed. 

"Watch out for any pot-holes," Nestorio advised. "Ginger's fallen down multiple times before, you don't want to end up like him."

"Especially when he broke his legs!" TapL exclaimed, bursting into laughter at the memory. 

"Stop reminding them!" Ginger protested, sulking. "I did _one_ thing, and now I'm reminded of it forever." 

Dave could see Crainer making a knowing face to SSundee in the background, who looked back as innocently as he could. Bad and Skeppy were chatting in the distance, as the others bantered playfully in the background. 

Huahwi was silently looking around, making sure the area was secure. It was times like this that Dave was reminded that he wasn't actually from this world--that he wasn't actually familiar with these people. 

There was a twinge of something akin to loneliness in his heart, and he didn't shake away his thoughts this time. 

"Ooo there's a lotta holes in this area," TapL teased, nudging Ginger with his elbow. Ginger swatted his arm away, face disgruntled. 

"I swear to Notch, I'm going to throw you guys in one day." 

Suddenly, there was a slight hissing sound of a creeper, and everybody snapped their mouths shut instantly. Dave had some time to look to the side, before there was an explosion to the side of him.

"Where did that creeper come from?!" Bad cried out. 

"Look at the potholes!" SSundee pointed out, whipping out a bow. Around them, from the trees and the holes in the ground below, were hostile mobs climbing out to meet them head-to-head. The zombies and skeletons wore helmets, as the sound of groaning and bones clinking maliciously filled the air. 

"What the hell?!" Dave exclaimed, shooting an arrow at a creeper. It slowed the creature down, but the green monstrosity didn't die. 

Huahwi tossed a splash potion of strength into the air, and it hurled down on the top of everybody's head, before he took out his bow and began firing.

This wasn't a good situation. They were surrounded, especially since the foliage was so thick and the trees clustered them together. The mobs' eyes glinted with a crimson light, pushing them further back.

Dave saw Skeppy's horse bump into his, and Skeppy gave him an apologetic look before he nocked another arrow in. 

"Oh, this isn't good," Nestorio said, and although his tone was casual, his face was completely serious. 

"Let's bridge then, and we might have to abandon the horses!" Huahwi yelled out. Dave nodded, seeing his logic; it would be impossible to put a lead on them quickly without being overwhelmed by the mobs, and the skeletons wouldn't permit them to build larger stairs up for the horses fast enough.

_How do the bridging mechanics even work? _Dave thought, before he saw Ginger take out a lumpy piece of cobble from his bag, placing it beneath himself; when a new piece was added, it molded perfectly to the cobble before it, creating an instantaneous tower up. 

The others did the same, although once Dave put down one piece of cobble he noticed that the mobs would get to him before he would even be able to get up. A zombie swiped at his arm, and he sliced off its head with his diamond sword before throwing a splash potion of healing on the ground--to both harm the mobs and heal himself.

"GRAB MY HAND!" Skeppy yelled, putting out his hand towards Dave. Dave took the opportunity, and Skeppy dragged him up to the ledge he was at. Skeppy had built a tiny 3 x 3 ledge, and a wall which would only be able to barely fit two people.

Dave was squished against Skeppy, who broke down one cobble to make a bigger ledge around them. Dave felt Skeppy's heart beat erratically in his chest, and he untangled himself from where he was against the other person.

"What is that?" Bad asked from another ledge to the side of them, seeing something black and orange heading towards them.

"A FIRECHARGE?!" SSundee yelled out, surprised. Huahwi jumped up, hitting the fire charge back, before a second one suddenly hit him from behind.

"HUAHWI!" TapL yelled out, eyes widening in horror. The mobs swarmed over towards Huahwi, who staggered up quickly to defend himself. 

"STAY UP THERE!" Huahwi yelled breathlessly, energy being spent fighting off the hordes of mobs and creepers. He was one of the best fighters currently, so he was putting up a fight--but the mobs had a number advantage. "Don't come down!"

"NO--" TapL yelled, although Nestorio pulled him back. 

"Where the hell did those firecharges come from?!" Dave questioned to Skeppy, body tense in foreboding. 

"Wait you're right," Skeppy replied, realization dawning in his eyes. "Only a player--"

There was a rain of arrows as the players desperately tried to keep the mobs away, although there was an occasional firecharge sent their way. Dave looked out into the forest, seeing something shift within its shadows. 

Huahwi still fighting the mobs, although his movements were getting weaker. He wouldn't die, of course, as he was a Spawn, but he would lose all his items if he did, and his experience.

Dave had a second to glance up as a flashing light came down from the sky, shaking the ground with a tremendous roar as dirt and hostiles alike flew up. 

"_NO_!" 

"HUAHWI!" Voices rang out simultaneously. 

Dave was frozen, mind unable to process what happened, before an explosion hit him from the back and lightning struck down above him.

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Skeppy watched as Huahwi died, screaming_ "NO!" _out in the air.

This couldn't be happening. 

This had to be a dream.

A nightmare.

Techno, who was right next to him, was startled for a second as his eyes stared out in the forest for a split second. Skeppy followed his line of vision, before he felt an explosion from his side, tossing him out unto Bad's ledge--which, said person caught him. 

Techno was thrown away from the explosion, clothes tattered as a bright light came down from above. 

"TECHNO!" Skeppy roared--his voice getting hoarse from all the yelling. 

There was no reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shit he dead whoopsie doo


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Depictions of violence, blood, slight torture(?)

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Dave woke up slowly, feeling pain from every pore of his body. A throbbing headache was beginning in his head, and he groaned as he sat up.

He'd never felt more at pain, especially for a guy who sat at a desk his entire life.

Where am I? Dave thought, looking around, before noticing that he was stripped of all his items and his armor. He also seemed to be in a peculiar, elaborate place made up of obsidian and nether brick. He was in a smaller room, lava pouring down from the sides and illuminating the room in an orange glow. An iron door was at the front of the room, no lever in sight. 

Dave shook his head, getting up slowly, and he winced as he set his foot down on the ground. He looked through the small windows in the door, which revealed a hallway made up nether brick and obsidian--the two key blocks making up this fortress, it seemed.

He sighed, sitting back down on the floor. He could search for a way out, but he felt too tired and full of pain to do that, so he decided to do that later. 

He stared up at the ceiling, tracing over the cracked lines in the nether bricks to distract himself from the dull throbbing resounding in his body. 

Dave woke up harshly, body flailing suddenly before he realized that he wasn't in a dream. The adrenaline was still pulsing throughout his body, but he clenched his hands and willed his pulsing heart to calm down. 

He realized why he had woken up; there was shouting coming through the door, as though someone was fighting. Dave quickly got up--he felt light-headed for a second--and headed to the door, peering through the doors' cramped windows.

"Who the hell are you already?!" 

Huahwi?

"Oh you don't need to know," another, deeper voice replied, voice condescending. "You won't remember soon anyway." 

What? Dave thought, curious. He thought Huahwi was dead once the lightning had come down, but apparently they had both survived. 

"What?" Huahwi replied, the sounds of struggling coming along quicker now, before a light purple glare flashed around the hallway and into the rooms. Dave quickly shut his eyes, seeing the glare even behind his eyelids. 

What's happening? 

Dave couldn't see anything happening, so there was a sort of apprehension in his body from the noises he was hearing. Something happened to Huahwi, and a foreboding feeling began in his gut--it was silent all of a sudden. 

"Wake up, Huahwi," the deep voice said, voice full of triumph. 

There was shuffling noise.

"Yes?" Huahwi replied, but it wasn't him. There was no way that dead, monotone voice was Huahwi's--but it was, at the same time. 

"Go welcome our new guest," the voice replied. Dave heard footsteps coming towards his cell suddenly, so he threw himself sideways to avoid the opening door. He debated between actually fighting the newcomer to at least try to escape, but he decided on biding his time instead. 

Huahwi walked inside, a strange white light emitted from his eyes as he peered over at Dave. Dave looked back, tentatively asking, "Uhh...Huahwi?"

Huahwi didn't reply, instead choosing to tilt his head slightly before suddenly whipping his arm out, pushing Dave to the ground and grasping his wrists tightly. 

"WAIT--" Dave yelled as he went down, hitting his head on the ground and feeling pain explode in his head. Black spots appeared in his vision, but he still struggled against Huahwi's grip and twisted his body and legs. Before long, however, he was subdued by a well-aimed punch at his head, causing him to momentarily pause.

In that blackened moment, Huahwi took out a lead and tied it tightly around Dave. Dave felt only muttered sensations, pain intensifying from the scuffle from his entire body, before his eyes focused on one face in particular. 

Another man had entered the cell, all tanned skin and white eyes and dark brown hair. He had on a simple pair of blue pants, along with an aqua shirt, although a dark cloak covered up most of the old fabric. 

"Herobrine?" Dave muttered instinctively. 

The man--Herobrine--suddenly looked down at him, eyebrows furrowed. 

"How do you know my name?" Herobrine asked, before he smirked scornfully. "Or did Notch somehow leak it, finally?" 

Dave didn't answer. 

Herobrine leaned down and gripped Dave's face with one hand, yanking his head to look into his white eyes.

"Did Notch tell you?" Herobrine asked, smirk disappearing. 

"No," Dave answered truthfully, but said nothing else.

"Then who?"

"A wandering villager, but I don't know anything else other than your name," Dave smoothly lied, eyes not leaving Herobrine's burning gaze for a second. "He only mentioned you in passing, that you had white eyes, but nothing else." 

Herobrine stared at him.

"I don't believe you for a second," he spat at him after a second, letting go of his face. Dave shook his head, feeling the tight muscles in his face finally loosen up a bit. 

"Huahwi, get him up and follow me," Herobrine ordered. Huahwi nodded, grabbing Dave's rope-tied body and hoisting him up, since his legs were still free. 

"One wrong move and your legs are gone," Huahwi whispered in Dave's ear, hands tightening on the back of the rope. 

Oh fantastic, even Huahwi is brainwashed, Dave thought sarcastically, flinching at his pain. 

He was led down the halls as hot lava behind glass illuminated the pathway down until they met a large entrance way lined with glowstone that led into an enormous tavern filled with obsidian, nether brick, and lava.

Hundreds of mobs were walking around, either pulling a cart or milling around or running to whatever places they had to be--albeit slowly. On the sides were enormous lava windows, and in the middle stood a throne made out of End crystals atop an obsidian tower with stairs leading up to it. 

Dave noticed the intricate glowstone patterns on the floor, as he was herded in front of the throne, and his knees smashed unto the ground with the force Huahwi was putting on him. 

"Just don't struggle and this'll be over soon," Herobrine said, smirking as he looked down at Dave, face overshadowed by the hood covering his head. 

What will be over soon? Dave thought, a bad feeling in his gut. He said nothing, however, and just glared up at Herobrine. 

"Keep him there," Herobrine ordered Huahwi once more, to which he obliged, before leaning down in front of Dave. His white eyes glowed menacingly in front of him, before Herobrine suddenly took out a diamond sword and stabbed into Dave's torso. 

Dave gasped, feeling the cold metal slide into his body before a burning white-hot feeling of pain followed close by. He gritted his teeth tightly, not willing to give Herobrine the satisfaction of a scream, as sweat began to bead on his forehead. 

"Don't worry, I won't kill you," Herobrine cooed. "Not before I squeeze the usefulness out of you, of course." 

Dave replied by breathing heavily, although Herobrine suddenly yanked the sword back. 

"Ug--" Dave started to grunt, but then accidentally bit his tongue as he closed his mouth once more. Herobrine grinned widely, bringing his sword down again.

And again.

And again. 

And again.

"Oh don't worry, your friend Huahwi went through the same thing," Herobrine said in false reassurance as he watched Dave lay on the floor, twitching lightly in a fetal position. "Hurry up and die already, Spawn, so we can hurry this process up." 

Dave's glazed-over eyes found the stare of Herobrine as he felt himself give into the darkness that began to cloud his vision.

There was a terrible stinging sensation as his head was forced back--but the pain in his body was gone. Dave blinked, feeling re-energized, but also slightly disorientated. 

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Herobrine said as he looked into Dave's eyes. A strange purple light began to cloud around Herobrine's eyes, as he forced Dave to look at them.

Oh no, is he going to brainwash me? Dave thought, feeling sucked into those pure white eyes, so he tried to look to the left--but Herobrine's grip was too strong.

Herobrine just grinned in anticipation. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

A few days prior...

"Coast clear," SSundee called out, jumping down from his cobblestone tower with Crainer at his heels. They'd been on the tower for at least a few hours now, fighting off mobs and waiting to see if any more would soon come--which they hadn't for the last two hours now.

"Wait, someone go check for Huahwi and Techno's body," Nestorio said, accepting the healing potion that SSundee was now distributing out to everybody. 

"I'll do it," Skeppy volunteered, feeling numb at Techno's death. There was still a small hope inside him that both might still be alive, however, since they haven't found the bodies yet.

Or maybe the lightning disintegrated them. 

Bad suddenly hopped on over to Skeppy, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?" Bad asked, looking at Skeppy in concern. 

"Uhhh..."

"You can tell me, you know."

"I know..." Skeppy replied, walking around tensely. "It's just...so hard to believe that both of them are gone...if they even are."

Bad nodded, silent for a moment before saying, "Yeah...I couldn't believe it either. I'll help you look around, but they're...probably not alive."

"Yeah," Skeppy said, numbly nodding. They exchanged a few words here and there as they walked around, looking for any signs of bodies, if there even was any. After an hour of searching around the area, looking through every nook and cranny in case of additional mobs, they ended up with nothing. 

When they came back to the cobble towers that everyone was crowded around, they saw Ginger and Nestorio comforting each other as SSundee and Crainer sat above them on a ledge with bows and arrows at their sides. 

"I assume nothing?" Ginger asked, face tense with anticipation. 

Skeppy just nodded, sitting down next to the cobble towers along with Bad. 

"GOD this day was so TERRIBLE!" Skeppy suddenly shouted, leaning his head back against the cobble and throwing his hands up in frustration. "We lost Huahwi and Techno, and we don't even have our horses anymore!" 

"Yeah," Bad muttered, agreeing. "We could buy new horses, but that's a pretty sizable chunk of our gold."

Nestorio shifted above them, suddenly looking contemplative.

"We haven't addressed the fire charges yet," he pointed out. "It has to be a person, not a mob. But then that means--"

"--that there's someone working with the mobs," Ginger finished, eyes lighting up in realization. "There's no way though...How would anybody be able to do that without being attacked?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Crainer replied. 

"They can control lightning too," SSundee added suddenly. "That lightning was not a coincidence--it was aiming to kill, specifically Spawns." 

Skeppy shivered, feeling a sense of foreboding in his guts. Something was out to get them--something that could kill Spawns at any moment, something that could control mobs and strengthen them.

"Then we better go back and warn the rest of the people," Ginger suggested, jumping down the tower and looking back at the rest of the group. 

Skeppy nodded, getting up and following him. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I didn't have anything planned out. I just improvised and I don't know what I even wrote, I'm so sorry rip 
> 
> also sorry I haven't really been updating bc school's busy


	6. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> skeppy, bad, and a6d hang out.

“Okay...so….what you’re saying is that you think something is behind all these attacks--or someone?” BajanCanadian asked, raising one eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” SSundee replied, leaning back as he raised one eyebrow back at Bajan, as if to provocatively say, you have anything else to suggest? 

“Because I totally believe you,” Bajan replied. He leaned forward, back hunched over as he pondered their story. CaptainSparklez was behind him, leaning over his shoulder as they all sit around a table in Minecraft city’s main hall--in one of the private meeting rooms. 

SSundee took out a whole zombie arm out of his bag, plopping it down on the table. It made a sickening squelching sound as it came down, and Sparklez looked at it in disgust. 

“So this is the corrupt energy you were talking about,” Bajan said as he examined the arm. Slight purple particles were coming out of the cut of the arm, which was burnt to stop the stem from bleeding all over the place.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen this energy in such a long time,” Sparklez piped up, a worried look on his face. “The last time…” 

“...Was a pretty terrible experience, we don’t have to bring that up,” Bajan finished. 

“So uh...should we stay here, or should we go?” Skeppy leaned over and asked Nestorio. “They seem to be having a pretty important conversation…” 

“Uhh, you want us to stay or go?” Ginger spoke up, overhearing Skeppy’s whispers. One of his feet was already pointed as if to go. 

“You can go,” Bajan replied. “We’ll tell you more about the situation later on.” 

“Alright baii,” Skeppy said as the other Mine Guards chorused “bye” at the same time and walked out the door. 

As Skeppy closed the door behind him, however, he overhead Sparklez say, “you don’t think it could’ve been...him, right?”

Who? 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

“Hey Bad, can I hang out at your place?” Skeppy asked, bouncing in step besides Bad and A6d. 

“What?! Can’t you hang out at your place?” Bad asked, skeptical. 

“But I wanna hang at your placeeee,” Skeppy whined. 

“Yeah, let’s go to your place,” A6d joined in.

“A6d!” Bad exclaimed, sounding betrayed, but it just caused A6d and Skeppy to giggle in unison. 

“Also…” Skeppy started, coughing into his sleeve in embarrassment. “I may have forgotten where my house was.” 

“That expedition must’ve really messed with you,” A6d commented. “I’ll show you where it is.” He paused.

“Speaking of the expedition, how did it go?” 

Bad and Skeppy looked at each other. 

“Well…” Bad started.

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

“Whoah,” A6d replied after they finished. Skeppy added on at the end about Sparklez’s comment, and about the beginning of the meeting in general. 

“So Technoblade and Huahwi are dead,” A6d said, shocked. “They’re the best PVPers though...You couldn’t find the bodies?”

Skeppy shook his head. Bad just lowered his head in sadness. 

“I’m sorry,” A6d said. 

There was a moment of silence, before A6d continued on. 

“...You’re also saying a player was shooting fireballs? And in cohorts with the mobs?” A6d went on. “That’s a bit hard to believe...but it’s plausible.” 

“I mean, what other explanation would we have?” Skeppy replied, sitting down on Bad’s couch and groaning as he sank down like a floppy starfish. Bad looked at him in disgust. 

“I dunno,” A6d said, shrugging. “But who could that be? What you’ve told me is that he--”

“--or she,” Bad added in.

“--or she can control lightning, shoots fire charges, and doesn’t get attacked by mobs,” A6d finished. 

“Well, yeah,” Skeppy said, before ruffling his hair. “We’re not getting anywhere with this. Let’s move on with another topic.” Bad and A6d nodded at that suggestion. 

“Where did everybody else?” Bad asked, curious. 

“They went to the Emerald Tavern,” Skeppy replied. “Probably to unwind. Why?” 

“I need to buy some new potions and polish my weapons first,” Bad said, leaning back on his chair. “And then you guys want to head over?” 

“So you just want to get drunk,” A6d joked. 

“NO--well, maybe...but that’s not all! We still haven’t gotten our payment yet!” Bad squawked, arms flailing, as Skeppy burst into laughter in the background. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

The Emerald Tavern was a shabby, but homely building near the east side of Minecraft City. It was conveniently near A6d’s house, and was situated in one of the less fortunate areas--hence the chipped wood and fraying fences. 

As Skeppy walked in, he noticed there seemed to be a plant theme inside--the walls had vines coming down it, and little pots of flowers were all over the place. Little windows all over the place filtered sunlight in, along with various tables that were filled with people from all over the city. 

“Wow, this place is nice,” Skeppy commented.

“You’ve been here already, you mushroom,” Bad replied as he sat next to Skeppy and A6d in a corner table. A6d looked curiously at Skeppy.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t compliment it again,” Skeppy retorted, as A6d raised a hand up. A waiter quickly came over, asking them what drinks or food they wanted. After they ordered, they began conversing about various matters in the city. 

Skeppy couldn’t help but let his mind drift off to a different place--one specifically of a dirty-blonde man with sarcastic tendencies. Techno had acted weirdly throughout the whole trip, as if he was anxious about something, but Skeppy couldn’t understand what. 

Anyway, he should stop thinking and regretting. Techno was dead, there was nothing he could do to change that fact except chase off his thoughts and move on. 

Still, he was regretful. Maybe if he was just a bit faster and hit that firecharge back towards its sender….maybe he would’ve saved Techno’s life. 

“...hear about the Spawns at Eylk village?”

Skeppy perked up, hearing those familiar words. Huahwi and the entire team were just at that very village. He decided to listen in to the conversation (in his peripheral vision, he could see Bad do the same as A6d talked on unknowingly). 

“That village? What happened this time?” A different voice coming from a scrawny brown-haired person said. The third person at the table, a blonde, also listened in curiously. 

“Just heard that they were behind the mob attack, or something like that, and that SSundee guy was covering it up,” the first person whispered--but Skeppy’s enhanced hearing could pick up on that. “I heard Spawns could control other people. You can’t trust those guys.” 

“Wait, what happened?” The brown-haired guy asked. 

“A bunch of gray skinned villager-looking creatures attacked Eylk village, and totally destroyed it. Apparently there were some Spawns on the ravagers, but they were disguised, and the villagers found out after the Mine Guards left the village.” 

“But aren’t the Mine Guards Spawns as well?”

“Well yes, but apparently they didn’t do anything. They defended the village, but they didn’t do a very good job at it, considering the state of it.” 

Skeppy got up from his chair suddenly, hands slamming down on the table. He moved as to walk on over to the other table, before Bad grabbed Skeppy’s arm. 

“Wait, don’t do anything rash,” Bad warned. Skeppy shook him off, eyes blazing with anger. Everything that happened to the village was getting blamed on the Spawns--all their effort in stemming the destruction, all their sacrifices and time seemed to not matter at all in the face of these villagers. 

Without them, the Eylk villagers would’ve all died, for Notch’s sake! 

“So you’re just going to let them talk trash?!” Skeppy retorted, clenching his fists. 

“I’m mad too, believe me,” Bad replied, white eyes furrowing underneath his hood. “But we can’t go stirring something up in the middle of the tavern. Also, it’d look bad on you--you’re part of the Mine Guards.” 

Skeppy hesitated, before sitting down. 

A6d looked curiously at the two and the three man table near them, arms crossed and face set in quiet anger. 

“Man, Spawns always go off scott-free. It’d be better if they didn’t exist, y’know.” 

Skeppy threw his chair back. 

“Hey, you wanna talk outside?”

“SKEPPY!” 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

“Awake, Technoblade,” a voice called out, a white light ominously glowing from both eyes.

Techno opened his eyes. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am severely late, I have no excuse


	7. Groggy but Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the Brine Rebel's attacks from three centuries ago to thirty years ago

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Techno followed behind Herobrine, steps light and purple particles floating around him occasionally. Herobrine led him into the same hallways he led Techno out of, and led him into the largest room at the very end of it. 

The iron door flipped open, revealing familiar figures. 

There was a sort of dull, throbbing pain on Techno's shoulder, but he didn't think about it too much. He didn't think of anything, really, except the sound of Herobrine's voice. 

Defib, Hannah, Timedeo, DanTDM, and Jschlatt were on the floor, a couple of them leaning against the wall, and some just staring off in the distance. All of them wore a simple black cloak, hoods down. A couple mobs stood around, letting Herobrine, Techno, and Huahwi pass by. 

"Get up," Herobrine instructed. "You two--" He pointed at Defib and Timedeo. "Travel to the nether and get more blaze rods." He instructed for DanTDM and Jschlatt to travel down to the mines to get more materials, and for Hannah and Huahwi to get more wood. 

The throbbing pain became more insistent on Techno's shoulder, and he almost twitched without Herobrine's permission. 

"And you..." Herobrine said, looking at Techno. "I can't send you as a spy because of those damned particles....but you will go with the Pillagers to attack Ponj village. Take a ravager with you, and raid all you want. Take as much resources as you can, and any Spawns who are in the village--oh, and don't let anybody find out who you are. Not yet." 

Techno looked at him blankly. 

"As for the villagers...kill every last one of them."

The pain in his shoulder throbbed on. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

"What?" The storyteller asked. 

"I just want to talk," Skeppy replied, smiling ominously. "Can I not talk to someone?" 

The blonde and brunette looked at each other, skeptical. The storyteller stood up, pushing his chair back into the table and looking face-to-face with Skeppy. Well...Skeppy was a bit shorter, but it didn't matter in terms of strength. 

"SKEPPY!" Bad exclaimed, reaching out although Skeppy slapped his hand away. 

"Relax, I'm not here to pick a fight," Skeppy said as he put an arm around the storyteller in a seemingly friendly way. "Now let's go!" 

Once they were outside, the storyteller threw off Skeppy's arm and glared at him. Skeppy smiled back. 

"So what's your name?" He asked. 

The storyteller hesitated for a second, before replying with, "Matt. But why do you want to know? Want to toss me in jail?" 

"I just wanted to know, you don't have to be aggressive," Skeppy replied, smiling. "Now....Care to explain why you think Spawns are so suspicious? Based on a few baseless rumors?" 

"What?" Matt asked, before pulling back his shoulders to look bigger. "Do I really need to explain? You can see for yourself." 

"Explain. Then."

"You're like aliens. Maybe it's because you guys never die, and never tell anything about any situation to the lower civilians! Maybe if you'd actually told us the whole situation before the last minute thirty years ago, all those villages wouldn't have died!" Matt said, his voice increasingly becoming louder. "Maybe my whole family wouldn't have died!" 

"I know that Steve and Bajan knows more about the calamities and the Brine Rebel attacks then they let us know about," Matt continued. "We're not that stupid." 

"Well clearly you are, because what is all this talk about Spawns being able to control others?!" Skeppy replied. "And you can't just lump every Spawn together just because you _think _that a few are manipulative. You're just as bad."

"People have seen it before," Matt replied. "Controlling others. It's not just a rumor--it's happened before. I've seen it." 

"From who?"

Matt refused to say anything for a second, before saying, "you'll rat me out. I know you will, to those guys." 

"Tell me, and maybe I won't," Skeppy said, crossing his arms. 

Matt hesitated.

"You're a Mine Guard."

"Just tell me. You've already mentioned it, anyway." 

"I saw that Steve guy...after the attack on my village--I was the only one who survived in my family--I saw him go over to a couple villagers that lived, and control them! I knew them my whole life, and they would never slaughter their own kind like that..." 

"Steve?" 

"My vision was a bit obscured, since I was hiding underneath a bush...but I'm sure of it. I've seen those same clothes," Matt said. 

"I see," Skeppy said, pondering his words. "And you also want us to be more transparent, correct?" 

"Yes," Matt replied. "We're never told anything, and it causes many villagers to suffer from that." Skeppy felt as though Matt was still not telling him something, so he asked, "anything else you want to say?" 

".....I'm good," Matt said, looking straight into Skeppy's eyes. 

"Tell me more when you have more concerns," Skeppy said, still a bit angry, although he decided the best way to get on the civilian's good side was to listen rather than punch them, like he wanted to do right now. It would only create worse rumors if he'd just punched them, anyway. 

"Uhhh....okay?" Matt said, uncertain. They walked back inside to find A6d and Bad sitting on top of the blonde and brunette guys, with the manager of the Emerald Tavern looking helplessly at the scene. 

"BAD! And you tell me not to get into a fight??!" Skeppy exclaimed, pointing at Bad and A6d. 

"I was defending your honor," A6d commented. "They were insulting you behind your back." 

Bad just shrugged sheepishly. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Skeppy took Techno's crown out of his bag, putting it on top of his armor stand and sighing. This was the only thing he'd found of Techno. They still needed to plan a funeral for both Huahwi and Techno, but they haven't had any time lately. 

He picked up the distinct clopping of hooves, and he opened the window. Who was speeding their horse through the streets? 

He could see a white horse--signalling a messenger--with a man covered in iron armor on top of it, dodging civilians and merchant stalls. 

Skeppy sighed, putting a few bottles on his potion brewer to make more health and strength potions, before jumping unto his bed. Unless anybody knocked on his door, he was finished with his job duties for today anyway. 

He closed his eyes, knocking out immediately.

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Loud banging suddenly broke Skeppy out of his sleep. He jumped instantly out of bed, and opened the second floor window of his home. Below, he could see the same iron-armored man he had seen the day before knocking on his door. 

He opened the door, asking, "yes? I was just sleeping." 

"My apologies sir! There's an urgent request for reinforcements at Ponj village!" The man said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "It calls for a force of about twenty men, and three Spawns." 

"So am I a part of the force?" Skeppy asked, awake all of a sudden. "Or am I choosing the men?"

"All the other Spawns are busy, so Sky told me to get you," the man replied. "He says 'sorry for the inconvenience, since you just got back from a expedition.'" 

Skeppy sighed. There goes his rest time. 

"Okay, where do I go?" 

"In the next hour, everybody must meet up at the South gate."

"Alright. Hold on." 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh man, two chapters in two days


	8. Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skeppy and Techno meet once more, this time on opposite sides.

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════  
  


_Hours before the attack on Ponj village... _

Dave rode on a Ravager as it bumbled along slowly. It wasn't particularly fast, which was slightly frustrating, but he could deal with it. A force of about thirty pillagers was behind him, armed with numerous swords and potions. 

Dave shifted the black hood of his cloak, covering his face as he checked and rechecked the potions he had on his waist. Strength, healing, swiftness--all there. Good. 

Ponj village was located on the outskirts of a snowy taiga biome, about three hours on horse from Minecraft City. It was one of the three trading centers between Minecraft City and HermitCraft City. 

It was a bold move, trying to take down this particular village, especially with a force of only thirty pillagers and fifteen ravagers--but they were the best fighters out of Herobrine's force. They would be able to raid this village easily, if they could take it over fast enough without reinforcements arriving. 

"We're almost there," Dave said to the pillagers, signalling them to stop. To the right of them were mountains, and to the left--Ponj village, surrounded by dozens of spruce trees and white snow. 

Patrols of villagers walked around, and there were a couple guards atop the cobblestone walls. Four entrances in total, one from each direction were embedded within the walls, reinforced with metal plates atop a wooden base. 

_Fire arrows would not work here_, Dave thought. _But a TNT cannon, or fire-charges would_. Luckily, they had fire charges left over from....from what? There seemed to be an plug in the back of his mind, itching for someone to open it, but Dave couldn't care less right now. 

He unfurled a blank map, putting his hand over the top of it and watching as the terrain and village appeared. Dave then explained the strategy to the Pillagers; they would adopt a hit-and-run strategy, with the long distance shooters staying the back at first before others would be going in from one gate to serve as a distraction first. 

Then, the larger force would come through the East Gate, where less guards would be stationed, and push forward with shields and iron swords. 

He checked again for resistance potions and strength potions, before nodding at one of the Pillager raid captains. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

"What time is it?" A voice asked from the right.

"Huh?" Marshall asked, taking his hand off his face. He was starting to doze off on guard duty again, but thank god he hadn't. He would've definitely gotten a talking-to by the Captain, which would've been embarrassing. 

"What's. The. Time?" The other man--Jack--asked, enunciating every word just to piss him off. "You have a clock right?" 

"Of course I do, peasant," Marshall joked, taking out a gold clock. It was currently around the afternoon currently, and there were thick, gray clouds in the air, signalling snow to come soon. 

"Man, still a few hours to go until I can get a break," Jack complained, rolling his eyes underneath his iron helmet. 

"Yeah--" Marshall started, before he saw movement from the corner of his eyes and Jack blew up in an explosive cloud of ash, orange, and crimson--knocking Marshall back to the corner of the cobble wall. 

_What?_ He thought, disorientated, but still keeping a bearing on his surroundings. He took out a firework from his belt, setting it down before lighting it up so that it would alert the whole village. 

He kept slipping on blood as he tried to grab his bow and arrows from the ground, fingers shivering with adrenaline as he heard more explosions to his side. 

_Oh god, please--,_ were his last thoughts before he felt a burst of pain and then all black. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Dave rode with the larger force of Pillagers, watching as the village walls crumbled and lit on fire from the force of the TNT and fire charge explosions. He grinned in anticipation.

There was a short swell of pain bursting out from his shoulder suddenly, and Dave clutched it in agony. 

_What's wrong with my shoulder today?_ He thought, but his thoughts about it subsided along with the pain. He didn't have time to think about it, not in his situation. 

He threw a potion of resistance and strength over the Pillagers before they finally breached the village. The Pillagers with the shields formed a wall, as the ones with the crossbows stood in the back of the formation, with Dave. 

Soon, they had captured the village, albeit with a fairly challenging resistance--but nothing they couldn't take care of. Dave hadn't actually done most of the fighting, but stayed on his Ravager as it charged towards various people, except to use his diamond sword to stab a few guards here and there. 

"Take as much resources as possible!" Dave shouted, waving his sword in the air as the Pillagers went into the farms and other buildings such as the Blacksmith's to raid. The other villagers huddled against inside the homes, as the corpses of villagers littered the streets. 

It was a gruesome sight, but necessary for upcoming preparations. 

Dave rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly, feeling somewhat dissatisfied by the whole thing. Something felt missing. He didn't feel accomplished at all. 

He took out a healing potion, drinking it as he watched the first few snowflakes fall from the sky. It was cold, and he was shivering, but he didn't feel as numb physically than mentally.

The Pillager Raid Captain ran over to Dave, gesturing wildly. Apparently one of the guards had escaped, and will likely bring reinforcements--the real bad news was that this had happened about two hours ago. 

"We still have an hour left, but we should hurry anyway. Tell your Pillagers to be finished soon," Dave commanded, rubbing his hands together in an effort to keep warm. 

The nearest city was Minecraft City, since HermitCraft City was around five hours away on horseback. They needed to hurry up. 

Around twenty minutes later, Dave gathered up the Raid and jumped atop his Ravager again. The force started going out the South Gate, before the thumping of horse hooves rang in the air suddenly.

_Who're these nerds? _

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════  
  


Although there was adrenaline rushing through his veins, the only thoughts Skeppy could currently think was, _I'm tired _and _I want to sleep_. He was worried about the villagers, really--but he also wanted to rest, for once. He wasn't used to high stress situations all the time, which made it the more tiring. 

"You alright?" Antvenom asked, looking at him from his horse besides Skeppy. "You...kinda look dead." 

"Because I am," Skeppy replied, sighing. "It's fine, I'm not that tired. How long is it 'til we're there?" 

"Five minutes, give or take two minutes," Ant replied as they entered a snowy terrain. Skeppy found himself unconsciously shivering underneath his blue jacket, but he could ignore it. For now. 

"Take this," A6d said as he tossed Skeppy an enderpearl. 

"Huh? Do you have one already, A6d?" 

"Yeah. Use this if you ever find yourself in a situation you can't get away from--be careful." 

Ant looked at them curiously, hands gripped on the saddle reins. 

"Skeppy and A6d, take fifteen of the men to the South gate," Ant said. "I'll be taking the other half to the North gate. The Pillagers are likely already gone, but take this for now--" 

He threw a splash potion of strength and swiftness up into the air, letting its effects permeate throughout the entire force. 

"--You never know." 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Dave dodged the arrow just in time, head tilting to the right just the slightest bit. There were reinforcements; they were too late. Or perhaps not, since he was sure his force could retreat fast enough without engaging in a battle. 

He threw down a splash potion of swiftness and drank a strength potion, commanding, "go! Go back to the base!" 

Too late. The reinforcements had already started clashing with the Pillagers, although it was clear that the Pillagers were stronger than the meager force by a clear degree. Dave jumped off his Ravager, letting it run through the other force, as he whipped out his diamond sword and blocked the attack of a bright blue blur suddenly. 

Dave moved back, twisting his sword and letting the other guy move back as well to avoid getting disarmed. Dave jabbed at the blue guy's chest, although he parried it in response--he was pretty skilled. 

But not enough. 

Dave swung relentlessly, letting his feet and arms carry him in his swift attacks against the other man, who was only barely keeping up with the swings. Dave could see the concentration and slight panic in the other guy's eyes, as the snow fell in a steady motion around the battle--covering blood and corpses all around. 

There was a strange feeling in his chest, looking at the tanned face of the other man. Dave suddenly tripped the unknown guy, moving his hand as to stab down unto his chest with his diamond sword--until his shoulder spasmed in pain suddenly.

Dave gasped, letting the sword hang just a centimeter above the other man's chest. The other guy looked up at Dave, shivering wracking his frame, face tensed up as he anticipated the final blow. Puffs of white clouds came out of his mouth, as snowflakes fell on his cheeks. 

"Zak," Dave suddenly said, the name popping up in his head. He knew this name was familiar, but couldn't put a description as to what that name meant to him. 

The other man--Zak--blinked in confusion, eyes flicking to the sight of his sword in the snow a couple feet from the right of him, before up to Dave's face, which was hidden by a hood. 

"I--what?" Zak asked, before Dave jumped off of Zak, chest and palms burning as he jumped back on his Ravager. His shoulder hurt with the pain of a thousand needles, but it could not compare to the knot inside his heart. 

He couldn't even finish off Zak (_who was he?_). He was a fucking coward. 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

Skeppy looked at the figure disappearing behind spruce leaves and trees, snow kicked up in a flurry. The other Pillagers followed as well, leaving behind the injured force, and A6d. 

_Zak?_ Skeppy thought, clutching his head in confusion. _I haven't heard that name in a long time._

He heard something crack, before feeling a burst of warmth which came as quickly as it had left. He looked up and saw A6d over him, presumably having just thrown a healing pot. 

"You need help?" A6d asked, holding out a hand. It was weird hearing him without his French accent, but Skeppy was used to it by now. 

He took the hand, and A6d pulled him up, brushing the snow off of him. 

Skeppy suddenly laughed.

"We failed, again," he said. "Wonder what everybody else is gonna think of us, now?" He wrapped his arms around A6d for a second, before letting go and going over to his sword to grab it. 

There was a sense of emptiness within him, but he couldn't be bothered to think about it right now. The corpses of everybody he had led in the force was around him, covered in a very light layer of snow. Some of them were still alive, but most, unfortunately not in the same condition.

"A6d, can you give me a paper and pen," Skeppy asked, putting out his hand. 

"Yeah, here," A6d replied and handed them over. "Why?"

"I'll write down all their names. We have to let their families know they're gone, shouldn't we?" 

════════∘◦ ✿ ◦∘═════════

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm overdue again, haha whoops 
> 
> I should be able to upload again by this week hopefully!


	9. Coordinates -230, 64, -60

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dave gets a message and Zak converses with people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops made a mistake on a past chapter; changed one of the controlled Spawns under Herobrine from Antvenom to DanTDM

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“What happened?” Antvenom asked, worry evident in his voice. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he got off his horse to inspect around the broken scene.

“Those gray villagers—Pillagers,” Zak started, remembering his knowledge on the new 1.14 update for Minecraft. “They attacked this village, and took out most of the men in my force.”

“The what?”

“Pillagers.”

“That’s what they’re called?”

“I made it up. They’re villagers and they pillage,” Zak lied. “So Pillagers.” A6d let out a little chuckle at that, muttering something along the lines of “typical Skeppy” and “sounds so dumb.”

“Well, moving on,” Ant said, changing the subject. “It seems as though the intent of the...Pillagers was just to loot the village, so a lot of the villagers are still alive. We’ll need to make sure the village’s walls are up by tonight, although it doesn’t seem like that’ll be possible.” The afternoon light was shifting quickly into dusts of red and orange, signalling the upcoming nighttime.

“We’ll have to defend Ponj from zombies just for tonight,” A6d added in. “Tomorrow, we should send someone to go back to Minecraft City to inform Steve.”

“How many people do we have left? Including guards from Ponj?” Zak asked.

“About forty,” Ant replied. “Twenty of us, and twenty of the guards.”

“I think it’s adequate,” Zak said, eyes full of determination. He wasn’t going to let down everybody this time, hopefully.

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It felt like a cloud had snuffed Dave's thoughts as he headed back to Herobrine's base on the Ravager. He felt as if there was something incredibly important missing—but he just couldn’t feel anything. It felt off.

When he was at the base with the surviving Pillagers, they’d gone down to the main hall, where Herobrine sat on the arms of his throne, looking thoughtful.

“Results?” Herobrine asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Village destroyed, lost eight Pillagers,” Dave replied monotonously. “Here’s the items.”

Dave signalled for one of the Pillagers to put down the chest that held the looted articles. Herobrine came down, opening the chest and inspecting the items within.

“Put these in the storage,” he commanded, grinning.

The Pillager nodded, grabbing the chest and running down the stairs to the left where the assumed storage was.

“You’re injured,” Herobrine noticed, white eyes glowing brightly in the dim lighting of the lava. Dave’s hands went up to the area of pain Herobrine was indicating at—there was a smaller slash which went through the side of his waist.

_Oh—it doesn’t really hurt,_ Dave thought nonchalantly. It was just a small slash, although the blood covering him made it look much worse.

Herobrine tipped a healing pot over the slash though, watching as the wound stitched itself up in a matter of seconds.

“Toss out everything in your inventory,” Herobrine commanded. Dave felt his hand move and take out everything from the bag strapped to his side, including his diamond sword and baked potatoes. Once Herobrine had called a zombie to collect everything, he held eye contact with Dave once more.

“Good,” he said curtly. “Go down to your room. A pigman will be there shortly to bring you food.” 

He turned back, opening a bag on his side and taking out a blaze rod. The blaze rod rose up in the air, covered in a light purple glow, and Herobrine watched it zoom in the air around his throne.

Dave watched the scene for a second, before letting his feet lead him to his destination, even though he didn’t even know where his room was. He just seemed to know.

_Probably because of Herobrine’s brainwashing_, Dave thought, although he paused for a second. He wasn’t brainwashed—what the hell was he thinking.

He opened an iron door, walking into the room filled with nether brick and glowstone ceiling lights. There was a red bed in the corner, along with a chest, table, and chair nearby—but nothing else.

Dave jumped onto the bed, sighing into the pillows, and tossed his cloak over the chair. His bones were aching, although his wounds no longer were due to Herobrine’s healing potion. He didn’t have anything else to do, so he thought about the day’s events.

_Who was that guy, _Dave thought curiously. There was something familiar about him, but he couldn’t pin that thought down. There was a strange feeling in his chest—a feeling that made him want to see Zak again, and soon too.

He rubbed at his face, rubbing his once again aching shoulder.

_What is with my shoulder? _He thought, irritated. It seemed as though healing potions didn’t even heal this aching pain, which was worrying. Maybe he could bring it up to Herobrine or something.

Dave suddenly heard the sound of a plate sliding into his room. There was a single slab at the bottom of one of the walls, allowing smaller items to slip in. There was no buttons inside the room, so the pigman couldn’t enter else it wouldn’t be able to exit.

He grabbed the plate, setting it on the table and eating it slowly. There was nothing else to do anyway, but it took most of his effort to not just devour the entire plate in seconds.

After, he looked inside the chest, but all he found was a book and a quill. Dave decided to sketch inside the book, since he couldn’t do anything besides exercising, but he didn’t feel like it. Also, because all he did was make vi—what again? What did he do before?

He looked down at what he was sketching suddenly. It was a picture of Zak—of course. Dave blushed, wondering if there was some way of erasing it, but it was drawn using the quill.

He yawned suddenly, before opting to just sleep, since he was tired. He’d gone through a lot in one day, and wanted to mull over everything tomorrow.

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Dave woke up in a blaze of pain from his shoulder, tasting blood in his mouth when he bit down on his tongue as he prevented himself from screaming. Sweat coated his back and his fingers spasmed as he clutched at his shoulder.

“UGH—” He yelled out, clawing at his shoulders again. “Shit, shit, shit—”

The constant stream of cursing did help alleviate the pain, although it did almost nothing in comparison to the white hot burning on his shoulders. He suddenly noticed that there was a green light shining slightly though the red cloth of his jacket.

He threw off the jacket, opening the buttons of his white dress shirt with shaky hands, before seeing a glowing green symbol made up of a leaf shape.

“What—” Dave started to say, before a set of coordinates flashed in his mind. -230, 64, -60. Although it disappeared immediately, the numbers were embedded in his mind as if he had known them for years.

He looked back at the green leaf, seeing it crumble into fragments, before feeling a rush of memories enter his brain again.

_Dave. Technoblade. Youtube, skywars, skeppy, wherethehellishewhatthehellishedoing—_

Before passing out from the plethora of information, he saw one last message: _Meet me_.

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Steve sighed, placing a hand on his forehead.

“Fourth incident we’ve had this month, and all similar,” he said. “Attacking a village, then plundering it clean, leaving behind casualties and ruins.”

He paused, looking over at a disheveled Sky, who marched into the room and sat down aggressively, tossing a bloodied diamond sword on the table.

“Sky,” Bajan warned.

“Why the hell am I _just _hearing about the Spawns situation?” Sky demanded, glaring back. “I came into Tark village, and everybody seems to hate me already.”

“It’s not that bad, you’re exaggerating,” Jerome replied. “People were whispering suspiciously, but we weren’t exactly attacked outright.”

“I know, Jerome. That’s why I said _seems_.”

“Look, I don’t know exactly what’s happening either!” Bajan blurted out, crossing his arms. “I’ve been hearing...things about Spawns from other people, but it didn’t seem like such a big deal at the time.”

“Like…?” Sky inquired, raising one eyebrow behind sunglasses.

“We can talk about this after,” Steve cut in, looking back at Zak and A6d for a split second.

Zak and A6d glanced at each other awkwardly, wondering if they should go. Personally, Zak wanted to stay and listen into the conversation, so he was just going to stay here until they told him to get out.

“Anyway, I was going to say that there were two random Spawns Jerome and I found when we were mining,” Sky said, indicating at his bloodied diamond sword. “We managed to kill both of them, although they didn’t drop much. A few iron and gold, but nothing else really.”

“Go on,” Bajan inquired.

“They didn’t become corpses, so they weren’t normal humans,” Sky went on. “They had on black cloaks, so I couldn’t see their faces, but they were unregistered Spawns.”

Steve frowned, pondering his words.

“Uhhh,” Zak piped up, his tongue instantly becoming tied when he saw all eyes shift onto him. “I, uh, also saw something like-like that. At Ponj village—there was a cloaked person on a ravager, and I knew he wasn’t a Pillager because his skin wasn’t gray. I think he may also be connected to your mining incident?”

“Pillager?” Steve asked, raising one eyebrow.

“That’s what he calls them,” Ant explained. “Since they look like villagers, and pillage...so Pillagers.”

“I see.”

Sky indicated for Zak to sit down at the table, to which Zak responded by glancing at A6d, confusion in his eyes. The other former members of Team Crafted looked at Sky in curiosity.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Sky said. “You’re a part of the Mineguards, and you were part of that expedition to Eylk, and then to Ponj, and also one of the top PVPers. Much better than me, too.”

“I suppose?” Zak replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He didn’t know what to say.

Sky burst out laughing suddenly.

“Relax, man!” He said, patting Zak on the back, before his expression turned serious again. “We’re going to need all the details of the latest weird incidents. Down to the smallest details.”

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have another chapter done by Friday


	10. Green Veins and Purple Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> help me lmao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter than usual :,)

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“...ake up.”

_Huh_? Dave thought, cracking open his tired eyes. What was happening? He felt as if his limbs and eyes were weighed down by bricks, but he still felt compelled to get up.

Where was he?

Dave suddenly jolted up from the bed, remembering everything happened last night, and all the things he dredged up from his forgotten—or rather, repressed—memories. That, and the fact that he was actually compelled to do so by Herobrine, who was standing beside his bed.

_Doesn’t he have pigmen to do his bidding for him? Why is he here?_ Was his first thoughts, before he saw Herobrine frown and inspect him from head to toe. Dave felt a shiver go through his entire body, wondering what he was thinking.

His second,_ did he notice that I have my memories back?_ He could remember everything from when he was controlled, but further back was a bit trickier. Little things such as names of certain people, places he went to, and videos he put up on Youtube, were somewhere in the deeper recesses of his mind.

If he wasn’t acutely conscious about his behavior, he felt compelled to do whatever Herobrine said; however, if he was aware of his actions, then he was able to go against his orders, like when Herobrine had commanded him just now.

“Get up,” Herobrine said, and Dave felt a subconscious pull on his limbs. He let that feeling pull him up, and tried not to think about looking like the Dave just a few hours before.

Herobrine looked at him again, purple light flashing at the tips of his eyes, flicking off his hood.

_Oh no, is he going to brainwash me again_, Dave thought nervously, trying to look as if he had no emotions. Which was probably easy for someone like him. He felt something intrude at his memories, and he swallowed, hoping that presence wouldn’t notice anything off about him.

“Why were you asleep for so long,” Herobrine murmured under his breath, peering at his eyes and head. “I’ll just reset him then.”

_I’m done for,_ Dave thought despairingly, sighing in his mind. What was he supposed to do. He couldn’t fight this man who had probably several hundred years of experience under his belt, versus a guy who stayed indoors all day.

Herobrine’s eyes glowed purple, and Dave waited with bated breath for that blanketlike sensation to befall him again. It didn’t happen—what did happen was that he felt his shoulder tremble unconsciously, a pressure tightening the muscles in it.

His mind was still clear, albeit with a bit of unconscious pull towards Herobrine still. Whatever happened with that mysterious green leaf on his shoulder last night—or possibly many nights, from what Herobrine said—, it worked.

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Apparently he had to go get the mining materials near Tark village, because apparently DanTDM and Jschlatt (_seriously, they were here too?_) were killed by none other than Jerome and SkyDoesMinecraft (_Sky does everything now, _Dave’s head supplied him with).

His partner was Timedeo, which was surprising. Didn’t Ginger say he, along with Hannah and Defib, were dead?

_I guess TapL would be pretty happy,_ Dave thought as he rode on a horse this time. A Ravager would be really inconspicuous, especially since they weren’t even raiding this time—which Dave felt horrible about. He couldn’t forget the terror-stricken faces of the guards and villagers, which he murdered himself.

His fingernails dug deep into his palms, leaving behind reddened crescents on pale skin.

“Hey, you gonna talk?” Dave asked Timedeo, who looked absolutely ridiculous wearing his Santa hat underneath his black cloak. And sunglasses, for that matter.

“Is there anything you want to say?” Timedeo replied, sounding almost irritated—it was the most emotion Dave saw from him so far, so it was a pretty great improvement to him.

“Nothing, just didn’t want my partner to be a rock.”

“We’re just here to do mining, we don’t need to talk.” Dave could _see _the eyeballs rolling underneath his sunglasses. Not literally.

“Alright, if it suits you,” Dave replied, shrugging. He wasn’t the type to keep a conversation going for long, anyway.

As they traveled, Dave thought about the coordinates he saw in his mind before he blacked out. -230, 64, -60.

_Should I go meet up with some stranger, or risk getting caught by Herobrine who probably has some kind of tracking mechanism on me? _Dave thought sarcastically. He was actually leaning towards just abandoning Timedeo—_sorry dude_—and just running for the hills, although he was paranoid about the tracking thing.

Herobrine’s sword was still ingrained in his mind, and he didn’t want to experience that again.

The more he thought about it, the more indecisive he became, until he finally just thought, _ok, final decision. I’m leaving. This is my only chance to find out more about my situation from this mysterious guy—or girl_.

On the side of his indestructible bag was the coordinates to his current location, which also showcased the other information that popped up when F3 was pressed in his world. It was very convenient, since he now knew where he was going, and where he is.

He sighed, looking at Timedeo, whose eyes were closing every few seconds.

_Alright, he’s not paying attention, _Dave thought._ I should probably go now. Before I don’t go at all_.

He yanked on the reins, twisting the horse to the side as he held on desperately unto the horse when it began to run faster.

_I’m really doing this, rest in peace,_ Dave thought, short on breath due to both adrenaline and exhilaration.

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He knew he was going the opposite way from Hermitcraft city and Minecraft City, because this was the exact same route he took while going to Tiuk village with the Mineguards.

_Wait_.. Dave thought, scrunching his face up in confusion. His position was getting closer to the given coordinates, and he was only getting closer to Tiuk village….which meant that the location was at that village.

“WHA-” he suddenly yelled as a zombie with a golden helmet attacked him and his horse out of nowhere. He reached for his bow—which wasn’t there, of course, so he grabbed his iron sword—getting a couple hits in before seeing it collapse. Purple particles came out of the cuts he inflicted on it, and he got off his horse to put his hand over the zombie to make it disappear into smoke.

“Not even close,” Dave uttered, the familiar saying coming out of his mouth easily. Damn, he missed playing Minecraft—as a game, not as his reality.

_This is familiar...I remember Ginger warning me about hostile mobs some time ago…_ Dave thought. It’d only been a couple weeks since he’d first landed in this mysterious world, but to him, it felt like a couple years.

As he came to Tiuk village, he saw that there was the beginnings of a cobblestone wall forming around it. The village had recovered a lot of itself from the Pillager raid, but there was a more cautious air around all the villagers now. Most were wearing iron armor, with weapons tucked in their belts.

“Who are you?” A villager in iron armor asked him as he walked up to the wall.

“I was a part of the Mineguards,” Dave replied as casually as he could, although his palms were sweating. “I came by a few weeks ago.” He flicked off his hood to prove himself—it seemed as though news of his “death” didn’t reach the outer villages yet, which was good in his situation.

“Oh, you.” The tone wasn’t very friendly. “What do you want from here?”

“I’m just here to check up on the repairs. Is there a problem with me specifically?”

The man rolled his eyes.

“You Spawns think you can do anything around here,” he replied, although he still let Dave pass.

_What did I do to him?_ Dave thought in resentment, although he held his mouth. _Whatever, I came here for one reason—this better be worth it._

He lead his horse to the Librarian’s house, before tying it up on a fence bordering the library.

_So we’re back here yet again,_ Dave thought exasperatedly, remembering the awful experience he had here last time.

“Hello?” Dave asked as he walked in, the same musty smell hitting his senses again. The Librarian was once again sitting in the same counter, reading yet another book, although he put it down when Dave walked in front of him. He wore a leather tunic and pants, with a lighter tan layer underneath.

“-230, 64, -60,” Dave stated calmly, although he was nervous. It seemed like he was always nervous these days.

The Librarian made eye contact with him back, before saying, “show me the leaf symbol again.” Dave complied, taking off his black cloak, red jacket, and unbuttoning only the top button to show the Librarian his shoulder. A small leaf glowed faintly, pulsing at random intervals.

“This will hurt, brace yourself,” the Librarian said before he touched it, and Dave felt a sudden pain travel down his shoulder to the rest of the body. After the initial rush, however, the pain soon disappeared, leaving behind only Dave clutching the counter with one hand with teeth gritted.

“Is it okay now?” The Librarian asked, helping Dave up again, who replied dismissively, “yeah. Technoblade neva dies.” It took all of his effort to muster up that sentence.

“You must have many questions for me,” the Librarian said, walking up to the pair of stairs in the back of the Library and gesturing for Dave to come up with him, who followed. They went into a large oak room furnished with dull red carpets and wooden chairs, and a large window in the front of the room. A campfire burned on the side, and bookshelves filled the sides of the walls, although these looked more personal.

“I do,” Dave replied, looking wondrously at the homely room.

“Fire away,” The Librarian said, settling down on a chair. He then placed a hand to the side of his head, before bright green leaves in a crown-like shape suddenly appeared on his head and wrists.

“First off, who are you?” Dave asked. “And what’s this green leaf thing?”

The Librarian smiled.

“My names Jeb,” he said. “I’m not really talked about, but I was there during the early days with Notch, Alex, and Steve.” 

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End file.
